San Diego News

New Generation of Rare Turtles Released into San Diego Reserve

San Diego, California - Five juvenile western pond turtles were released into the Sycuan Peak Ecological Reserve today by a team of federal, state and zoo scientists. The released turtles are part of the "headstart" program, which involves raising hatchlings at the San Diego Zoo to a large enough size and then releasing them into the wild, giving them a better chance of surviving and fending off natural predators.

The western pond turtles are California's only native freshwater turtle species, a species that was once widespread in California, Oregon and Washington. They are now uncommon, especially in southern California, due to habitat loss and invasive, nonnative predators like bullfrogs and largemouth bass, which eat up the tiny hatchling turtles that are no larger than a quarter.

"Along with USGS we're able to monitor these turtles with their radio transmitters and check on them periodically to see how they're doing," said Tommy Owens, senior keeper with the San Diego Zoo's Department of Herpetology. "It's really important here at the beginning of the release, because the turtles might not stay put and we want to be able to find them easily. Through radio tracking we can see the use of habitat, their behaviors and check on their overall well being."

The five turtles released this morning were each fitted with a miniature radio transmitter prior to the release. Researchers attached these tiny antennae to the juvenile turtles' shells so they can regularly check on the turtles' growth, physical health and behavior. The transmitters were applied with a silicone sealant that allows the young turtle's shells to grow and expand, even with the transmitter device attached to it.

Since the first generation of "headstart" turtles was released over a year ago, researchers monitoring the program have noticed progress and have been able to catch those turtles periodically to gather their measurements. After examining the turtles and checking their transmitters, researchers release them back into the same watershed.

The Sycuan Peak effort is a joint project of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), San Diego Zoo Global, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG). The project is testing conservation strategies to help western pond turtles and other native species, since many California ecosystems are being impacted by invasive, nonnative species accidentally or intentionally introduced by humans. The SANDAG TransNet Environmental Mitigation Program (EMP) funded the USGS' initial work to support the restoration of the western pond turtle.

Bringing species back from the brink of extinction is the goal of San Diego Zoo Global. As a leader in conservation, the work of San Diego Zoo Global includes onsite wildlife conservation efforts (representing both plants and animals) at the San Diego Zoo, San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, as well as international field programs on six continents. The important conservation and science work of these entities is made possible by the San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy and is supported in part by the Foundation of San Diego Zoo Global.

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